Events: Hispanic Heritage Essay Contest Winners

2002 Hispanic Heritage Month Essay Contest

Winners
Brineydi Peralta and Yovieliz Pichardo are the proud middle school winners of the 2002 Hispanic Heritage Month Essay Contest sponsored by WWSI-TV Telemundo 62. Winners were announced on November 13, 2002 at 4:00 PM at Temple University during a ceremony to present the awards along with a Temple prize pack. Students were also given a Telemundo bag of goodies. Winners read their essays on air during the taping of “De Todo Un Poco”, a local news segment hosted by Maria del Pilar. Brineydi and Yovieliz are 8th-graders at Roberto Clemente Middle School!

Proud of my Hispanic Heritage

Brineydi Peralta
8th Grade
Age 13

People in our history have struggled for justice and liberty. These are two rights that all people should have in their lives. However, people in the past have had to struggle for these rights, and we continue the struggle today. I am one person who will continue the struggle in the future.

As a Dominican, I look to the example of the Mirabal sisters who struggled for justice and liberty. In the Dominican Republic, Rafael Leonida Trujillo Molina was president for 21 years from 1940 to 1961. He was a bad president who tortured and killed many people. The Mirabal sisters were average people but they disliked the injustice and got involved in the struggle for justice. They fought for justice but found their death. No one knows for sure how they were killed but people believe Trujillo’s people, army officers, killed them. Now in the Dominican Republic, people celebrate the Mirabal sisters on November 25th, the anniversary of their death.

The struggle of justice and freedom continues today. Since the September 11th attack on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, people are scared. People don’t feel free to fly, open mail, or just be in the United States. President George W. Bush is fighting to free our country from fear and terrorism. Just as the Mirabal sisters fought President Trujillo, now President George W . Bush is fighting Osama Bin Laden, who is believed to be responsible for the attacks of September 11.

When I grow up, I will fight for justice and freedom like the Mirabal sisters and President Bush. I hope to work as an F.B.I. agent to keep evil people from doing unjust things and taking away freedom from our country. As a bilingual person, I will be able to work with more people, help translate for English speakers and help those who speak Spanish. I hope to be a strong, bilingual Latina working for justice and liberty in the future like the Mirabal sisters did in the past.

Proud of My Hispanic Heritage

Yovieliz Pichardo
8th Grade
Age 13

Latinos throughout history have influenced my life. They have instilled in me the importance of establishing goals and achieving them. Two people that have strongly influenced me are Roberto Clemente and Sammy Sosa. They shown me that I can reach my goals.

Roberto Clemente was a good baseball player and a good person. In 1954, when he was a young man, he went to a place where teams were recruiting players and they choose him. He was from Puerto Rico and was proud to be Latino and proud to be a good baseball player. He set a goal for his future and achieved it.

Sammy Sosa is also a good baseball player. When he was a kid he always played baseball with his friends in the Dominican Republic. His dream was to be a famous baseball player and it came true. Now he plays in many places and has hit many home runs. He is famous and proud to be Latino.

When I grow up, I want to reach my goal just like Roberto Clemente and Sammy Sosa. My goal is to be a doctor because it is something that I am really interested in and something I want to learn about. Also, when I reach my goal, I can teach others about medicine and be an example to other Latinos.

I am proud to be Latina and bilingual. Knowing two languages will help me find a job in the future where I can help more people who may only speak Spanish

Through history, many Latinos have achieved success by reaching their goals. Roberto Clemente and Sammy Sosa are two examples of those who worked hard to achieve their goals. I will be another Latina in history that will have achieved the goals I have set for myself.